Brian Lowry

Matthew Gilbert

I like Archer because it succeeds where so many of the snarky animated series tend to fail. Reed and his writers and voice actors balance all the pop satire and raunch with a strong sense of the characters.

Alan Sepinwall

Heather Havrilesky

Archer is funny. If you don't agree after the first episode, keep watching. You might try drinking a little coffee or having a doughnut before you tune in, though, because the zingers fly by pretty quickly.

James Poniewozik

The first episode is, maybe to grab the young-guy audience, heavier on the sexplay and lighter on the laughs. But two or three episodes in, the characters and dynamics come together, and the show really begins to kill. Literally and figuratively, but mostly figuratively.

Aaron Barnhart

With its demented story lines, idiotic characters, out-of-control banter and fantastic send-ups of a spy genre that had seemingly been overspoofed already, Archer is destined to put another feather in the cap of FX.

Rick Porter

Paige Wiser

The show is fast, funny and smart, although it stoops a little low for punchlines; I could do without the fat jokes and the cheap shot at Indira Gandhi. But the random humor pays off more often than not.

Tom Gliatto

Tim Goodman

Though future episodes don't quite measure up to the brilliant pilot, Archer nurtures a collection of recurring themes that pile up and become funnier the more they are referenced through the episodes.

Robert Bianco

Archer is not for everyone, and certainly not for anyone whose idea of risque is "Get Smart." But do yourself one favor: Don't decide it's not for you until you have watched an entire episode, because you just may find the good outweighs the excessive.

Rob Owen

Archer may be crude but it's far more clever than last fall's disappointing "Testees," and "Archer" wins points with its observational humor about modern life and in its mocking of mundane workplace minutiae, such as computer passwords and the lack of security at a spy agency.

Barry Garron

The new series boasts eye-catching animation and dollops of sex and violence but only enough humor to elicit occasional chuckles. If you eliminate the references to sexual perversions, even the smiles are few and far between.